Hope you’ve all had an awesome week. I certainly have. Yesterday I was given the 110% go ahead for my new job. Up until now, I was waiting to hear the final decision – My contract was offered to me only on the basis that all references from the last five years come through. The last fortnight saw a problem with the jobcentre not coughing up the proof that I’d claimed from them and it looked like I wasn’t going to be able to have the job.

But yesterday, I got the call saying everything’s definitely 110% and I’m good to go. I start on Monday at 9am. Yay.

While this isn’t exactly a career move, it’s the move before my career move. This full-time job, which pays much better money than what I’ve been earning, will help me save to go travelling for six months next year and also help me finance my TEFL course in order to gain a certificate and explore my career options with that when I come back.

Today was my last day at the jewellers and, while I won’t miss retail, I will definitely miss the friends I’ve made and have been working with there. They surprised me with a lovely card wishing me all the best in my new job and travels, and even got me a teddy bear from the Build-a-Bear Workshop with a wonderful recorded message for me when I press one of the paws. <3 I love them. I’m going to miss them so much.

So I have this weekend to prepare myself for a brand new job and a whole new start. Eek!

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1. Favorite childhood book?
Matilda by Roald Dahl

2. What are you reading right now?
The Stand by Stephen King. I started it back in February, put it down for a few months but am now back on it and whizzing through.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
None. I had the Harry Potter books on request a couple of months ago but now I’m trying to get through my own TBR pile.

4. Bad book habit?
I give everyone who borrows my books a four hour lecture on how to handle them carefully but I’m a complete hypocrite. Currently The Stand has a broken spine, is covered in make-up (thanks to being randomly shoved in my bag) and I have been known to highlight passages in pen.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
I still have two biographies outstanding from an old library – one on Tom Cruise, one on Marlon Brando. They were due back December 2003.

6. Do you have an e-reader?
I don’t. I’m not gonna go out of my way to get one because I love the feel of books in my hands but if anyone bought me one, I wouldn’t complain. I guess it’s more environmentally friendly.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
I prefer to read one book at a time but often find myself putting one book down if it gets too much and I need a break from it and turning to another.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
Yes. I do find myself more conscious of how often I read and how fast. I also stop myself every now and again and think ‘Ooh, I’ll put that in a review’ while I’m reading.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
Probably And This is True by Emily Mackie. I found it very much like the pieces I’d read in creative writing workshops in university. Lots of beginner writers trying to shock and use tactics they’ve picked up from other writers. They haven’t quite found their voice yet. That’s what I found this book to be like.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
It’s very hard to choose but it’s a toss-up between The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas and My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Practically never. I don’t enjoy fantasy at all and there seems to be a lot of fans on the book blogs out there but it’s never appealed to me. I think the closest I’ve come to it is by reading some of the Harry Potter books but that’s enough for now.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?
I’m happy to read anything and everything. I know what I like and I know what I don’t. As I’ve said, I don’t enjoy fantasy and anything kind of medieval. It’s just not my thing. On the other hand, I think I can tolerate reading about controversial subjects quite well, especially on issues that a lot of readers find way too disturbing.

13. Can you read on the bus?
I certainly can.

14. Favorite place to read?
On the train. It’s 30-45 minutes each way to work and I love finding a seat and opening a book. It’s my favourite time.

15. What is your policy on book lending?
I’m too lenient with it. There’s a friend of mine who has two of my books that I know I’ll never see again … probably because I see her maybe once a year. One of them was a book I found so inspiring, I couldn’t turn her down when she asked to lend it and earn some of her own inspiration. One was a book I had yet to read!

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
Never. I was terrible for it when I was a teenager but I couldn’t bear to do it now.  I collect bookmarks too so I have no excuse.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Unfortunately yes. And in pen.

18.  Not even with text books?
I’ve done that quite a bit.

19. What is your favorite language to read in?
English. It’s the only language I can speak fluently though I’m learning Spanish so it would be nice to think that one day I could read a good novel in another language.

20. What makes you love a book?
It could be anything from the story, the characters, the message. It all depends.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If there’s a book that I’ve been blown away with and thought, ‘Wow, that’s excellent. I’d definitely read that again!’, I’ll recommend it.

22. Favorite genre?
I don’t have a favourite.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Sci-Fi. I’m fascinated with aliens but never read any books on them.

Favorite biography?
Recently I fell in love with The Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara. Very inspiring. Now one of my favourites.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Ah, yes! The Fat Girl’s Guide to Life (One of the books I lent to the friend I mentioned earlier ).

26. Favorite cookbook?
Vegan Cooking for One.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
The Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara. I’m not going to go into details about why – just read my review here.

28. Favorite reading snack?

I love a good cup of green tea with biscuits while I’m reading.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
I was always a huge fan of vampire books. Now I can’t stand them. The recent vampire hype has killed my enthusiasm.

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I don’t usually read critics’ opinions. I read book bloggers’ opinions and, luckily, I get a very balanced argument for each book I read.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I’m fine with it. I’m not personally bashing the author. I’m not giving unfair or unjust criticism. I just mention why I didn’t enjoy it and what I would have preferred. You can’t please anybody and all writers need to learn that very quickly.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
Either Spanish or French.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
Bleak House by Charles Dickens. Having never read any Dickens before, this was definitely not the one to start with.

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It’s right on the top of my TBR pile but I’ve yet to pick it up yet.

35. Favorite Poet?
Sylvia Plath.

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
None. I don’t visit the library much – I have too many of my own to keep me going at the moment.

37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
I can’t remember ever doing that.

38. Favorite fictional character?
Henry De Tamble (The Time Traveller’s Wife)

39. Favorite fictional villain?
Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
The Motorcycle Diaries, Into the Wild.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
A couple of weeks . . . ?

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
I couldn’t finish The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm. I’m not even going to go into it.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Sleep. I get so relaxed I end up falling asleep!

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
Atonement by Ian McEwan. The film is a perfect interpretation of the book.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
I have the feeling that the new Let Me In film will sit here.

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Just over £50.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
I flick through when I’m considering buying a book to get the general feeling but otherwise never skim.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Either that it’s getting way too heavy for me or I’m not interested in the story and characters and reading it has become a chore.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
Usually but I don’t have shelves. At the moment, my books are in two piles: read and unread.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
Both. I like to give books to people I know will enjoy them more but I can’t give away books that have meant a lot to me.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
Every vampire book that’s been released in the last 12 months.

52. Name a book that made you angry.
The Twilight series.

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman. It’s not that I didn’t expect to like it – I just didn’t expect to love it as much as I did.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
The Hours by Michael Cunningham. I adore the film – it’s one of my favourites – but the book was very disappointing.